It also expands the eligible testing locations to include shallow recreational waters adjacent to beaches where children and the elderly typically play and swim, and are therefore more at risk of contamination.
Expand BEACH Act grant eligibility to include identifying sources of contamination and testing shallow recreational waters adjacent to beaches.
Occurrences
Evidence
unverified · Source version 29040 · locator unknown
EPA's current Beach Grants page says BEACH Act grants go to eligible states, territories, and Tribes with coastal recreational waters adjacent to beaches, EPA-approved numeric water-quality standards, and the required performance criteria for monitoring and notification.
unverified · Source version 31235 · locator unknown
EPA's beach guidance tells grantees to assess potential sources of fecal contamination and, for sampling, use shallow depths from knee to waist depth, including about 0.3 meter below the surface.
unverified · Source version 57999 · locator unknown
"may use such grant to identify specific sources of contamination"
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"Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works"
Assessments
The evidence does not show that Congress or EPA expanded BEACH Act grant eligibility as promised. EPA’s current grant page still ties eligibility to existing coastal recreational waters and performance criteria, while the beach guidance only shows related contamination-source assessment and shallow-water sampling practices already in guidance, not a new eligibility expansion. That makes the core promise unfulfilled rather than delivered.